It depends on who you are. If you rent out a home in England, you have no choice. The fixed wiring must be inspected at least every five years and your tenants get a copy of the report. That is the law, and the fines for ignoring it are large. If you own the home you live in, nobody can make you, but every ten years is the usual guide and sooner is sensible in an older house.
There is a third group who ask, and that is people buying or selling. A survey will often say the electrics look dated and recommend a report, because a surveyor is not an electrician and cannot test anything. An EICR is what settles it. In Milton Keynes that comes up a lot with the original grid-square estates, where the wiring is old enough to be worth checking but often still perfectly sound.
Landlords: every 5 years
Required by law for privately rented homes in England, with a copy to the tenants.
Homeowners: about every 10
Not required, but worth doing, and sooner if the house or the wiring is older.
Buying or selling: on request
The quickest way to settle a survey that says the electrics look dated.
Your questions, answered
What does an EICR actually check?
The fixed wiring, the earthing, the consumer unit and the protection on each circuit. It does not cover your appliances, which is a separate thing called PAT testing. Every finding is coded C1, C2 or C3 by how urgent it is.
What does a fail mean?
It means at least one item is coded C1 or C2. That does not mean the house is about to burn down, it means something needs putting right. C1 is a danger present now, C2 is potentially dangerous and C3 is only a recommendation.
How long does it take and do I need to be there?
Around 2 to 4 hours for a typical home, and yes, someone needs to let John in and be there. The power goes off for parts of it, so it is worth planning around.
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